As a holder of two degrees from the University of Haifa and a PhD student at the University of London, I traveled to Bournemouth for the meeting of the British University and College Union (UCU) as an Israeli delegate on behalf of the Israeli Council for Academic Freedom.

The discussions at the meeting regarding the imposition of a boycott on Israeli academia took place in a hostile environment while ignoring all the facts we presented regarding freedom of expression and academic freedom at Israeli institutions of higher learning.

Evidence that Israeli lecturers who hold pro-Palestinian views are able to express their positions uninterrupted both in their research work and lectures, as well as in the media, had no effect whatsoever on the discussions.

Even when we presented a list of organizations and research centers that operate in the framework of Israeli universities and boast Israeli-Palestinian or Israeli-Arab cooperation, with the promotion of ties between the peoples their top agenda, it did not make a difference.

The same was true when it came to calls by Palestinian lecturers and figures, including al-Quds University President Sari Nusseibah and Minister Raleb Majadele urging the UCU to refrain from boycotting their Israeli colleagues.

Boycott leaders in Bournemouth ignored the figures I presented to them regarding the University of Haifa and the fact that close to 20 percent of students there are members of minority groups in Israel - apparently, we will also be subjected to the boycott.Futile battle

They were uninterested in the fact that Arab students, who view themselves as a national minority in the State of Israel, are represented by a separate student committee and enjoy the freedom to act politically and on the public relations front. They were also uninterested in the fact that Professor Majid al-Haj is the deputy president of the research university, or that the Jewish-Arab center headed by Dr. Faisal Azaiza is considered one of the university's most prestigious bodies.

The truth is that it is clear to this group of lecturers that Israeli academia is least at fault for what is happening in our region, certainly when compared to the freedom of expression at our neighbors' academic institutions. After all, the English know full well that the technological, academic, and cultural achievements in the State of Israel stem first and foremost from the freedom of expression and research in every field in Israel.

Therefore, the figures we presented were futile, because all they cared about was their one and only objective: De-legitimizing the State of Israel with no relation to its academia; presenting it as an apartheid state that deprives its minorities of elementary rights such as education and the freedom of expression.

They were particularly bothered by the fact that a student like me, a member of the Druze community, appeared in the meeting and defended Israeli academia. They protested the fact that I even agreed to study at institutions that are associated with the country's majority population group and teach in its native tongue, Hebrew. I wonder how they would have reacted had I protested the fact that her majesty Queen Elizabeth is the patron of the University of London, and now I am studying in their native tongue, English.

The writer, a member of the Druze community in Israel, is a graduate of the University of Haifa and a PhD student in the University of London. His grandfather, Salah Hanifas, served as a member of the second and third Knesset

Later yesterday, Zecharia Alrai, 39, an officer in Fatah's elite Force 17 commando unit, arrived. He had been abducted by four Hamas gunmen a week ago. They loaded him into a jeep and drove him to an isolated spot, where they shot three bullets into his leg and dumped him.

"That's not Islam. That's evil and hypocrisy. How ironic that Israel is rescuing us from our Muslim 'brothers,'" he said. ________________________________________________

Fatan al-Hinawi, 9, was hospitalized in the children's ward of Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv after being wounded in Gaza. A bullet punctured her side, hit her spine, bowels, a kidney and came out the other side, hitting her arm.

Al-Hinawi is one of five Palestinians, three of them children, who were caught in Hamas-Fatah cross fire and taken to Ichilov. Some are in serious condition.

Shadi, a 23-year-old policemen, is one of them. He was attacked by Hamas gunmen a week ago. "There were five of them. They stood over me and shot my legs from the knee down. One of them put his Kalashnikov to my head. Instinctively I moved the barrel aside and the bullet hit my hand," Shadi told Haaretz yesterday. He arrived at Ichilov with one leg amputated and the other leg crushed.

"I wanted to shoot myself for voting Hamas," another patient said. He came with his brother, who had been shot in the head while evacuating wounded people in his taxi. "We really believed Hamas would change things," he said.

"Hamas has money and weapons for the next 20 years. All the youngsters want to join it, it offers good wages, not what we get from the Palestinian Authority," he said.

"Hamas is no different from Bush. Israel is also to blame. Israel starved us, wouldn't let Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas] display any achievements or force, while Hamas kept getting stronger."

Israel could have stopped Hamas' attacks on Fatah's offices, but it didn't, he added.

Later yesterday, Zecharia Alrai, 39, an officer in Fatah's elite Force 17 commando unit, arrived. He had been abducted by four Hamas gunmen a week ago. They loaded him into a jeep and drove him to an isolated spot, where they shot three bullets into his leg and dumped him.

"That's not Islam. That's evil and hypocrisy. How ironic that Israel is rescuing us from our Muslim 'brothers,'" he said.

Meanwhile, Russian citizen Elvira Mahana crossed the border from Gaza to Israel with her three children. Her husband, a Palestinian she met in Russia, was not with them. Russian and Ukrainian families were being evacuated from Gaza by their embassies and sent home via Jordan. Mahana said she hoped her husband would escape via Rafah to Russia.

"This is no time for love," a Russian embassy official at the Erez crossing said yesterday. Several families had to separate, either because the husband did not have Russian citizenship, as in Mahana's case, or because Israel would not let all the men cross the border, citing security reasons, the Russian officials said.

Meanwhile, medical rescue teams were preparing to evacuate more wounded. At the Erez vehicle crossing, a Palestinian worker took a stretcher from the Israelis and brought it to a patient, who underwent a security check before being taken across the border.

"Many are trying to flee Gaza," a Gaza policeman who had been hospitalized in Ashkelon's Barzilai Hospital told Haaretz yesterday. "I reached Erez, but they weren't letting anyone cross, even those who had permits. The soldiers told us to move back, firing at the ground," he said.

Then Hamas gunmen started firing into the crowd. Israeli soldiers fired back, with hundreds of Palestinians caught in the middle.

IDF SPOKESPERSON UPDATEA summary of IDF humanitarian activity in the Gaza Strip throughout the day

Despite the volatile security situation in the Gaza Strip, the IDF is continuing its efforts to provide a response to humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip. Throughout the day the following humanitarian aid was transferred from Israel into Gaza with the coordination of the Gaza District Coordination and Liaison Office:

Three years ago, when his country was under Syrian control, he was stopped at a surprise Syrian roadblock north of Beirut. A strong-looking mustachioed officer asked to see his papers. He examined them in silence for a long time as my friend's heart began to flutter. What had he done wrong, he wondered. Maybe it was all because of a sarcastic column he wrote about Syrian President Bashar Assad?

The officer's voice interrupted his thoughts. "So, you're a journalist?" he asked. My friend confirmed his profession. "I've wanted to talk to a journalist for a long time," the officer said. "Your profession is a strange one. What do you write about in the newspaper? Just what happened and that's it?"

"God forbid," my friend responded. "Not just what happens. We also write about what might have happened, what we heard has happened, and what might happen."

"I understand," said the officer. "Very interesting." With that, he gave my friend back his papers and sent him on his way.

I was reminded of this story after The New Yorker published an article three months ago dealing with the Bush administration's attitude toward Sunnis and Shi'ites, written by investigative reporter and Pulitzer Prize-winner Seymour Hersh. In the article, Hersh wrote that the U.S. administration, embracing realpolitik, was siding with the Sunnis in their conflict with the Shi'ites. This led the administration to cooperate even with those who are hostile toward the United States, including groups linked to Al-Qaida. To back up his claim, Hersh wrote that the United States was transferring funds to the government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, even though it knew some of the money was going to the Palestinian group Fatah al-Islam in the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon. (The article was published about two months before fighting broke out between Fatah al-Islam and the Lebanese army.)

Sharp-eyed reporters in Beirut read the article in astonishment. Siniora, of the Lebanese Sunni establishment, was assisting allies of Al-Qaida who had split off from a pro-Syrian organization? And the United States was aware of this and might even be planning it, in order to strike at Hezbollah? And all this was in the context of aid to the Sunni forces in the Middle East in their conflict with Shi'ites backed, according to Hersh, by Iran? A world turned on its head. How could it be?

But it was published in The New Yorker, a magazine known for its meticulous fact-checking. The Lebanese reporters began investigating the story on their own.

Hersh said he heard the story from Robert Fisk, the bureau chief of The Independent's Beirut office. But Hersh did not check out the story himself. For his part, Fisk said he heard the unconfirmed report from Alastair Crooke, a former British intelligence agent and the founding director and Middle East representative of the Conflicts Forum, a non-profit organization that aims to build a new relationship between the West and the Muslim world. Crooke, who gained his reputation through his involvement in the conflict in northern Ireland, does not know Arabic. When Lebanese journalists spoke to Crooke about the report, they said he told them only that he had heard it "from all kinds of people."

Thus are reports about the Middle East generated, I thought to myself. And this is a case involving two well-known journalists and an even more well-known magazine.

And suddenly I thought of a British ditty from the beginning of the last century:

"You do not have

To bribe or twist

The arm

Of the British journalist

Considering what he would do

Unasked

There is no reason to."

Inspired by the "caveat emptor" principle of Roman law, which sounds a note of caution for potential buyers, media consumers should heed the unwritten warning, "Reader beware." And some criticism within the journalistic profession wouldn't hurt either.

The author is a professor of Islamic History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

"In the second Al-Aqsa Intifada, females martyrdom-seekers emerged. These areyoung women, in the prime of their life, at a time when girls like these thinkonly about jewelry and preparing for marriage. Nevertheless, they went totheir martyrdom, advancing head-on with a great fighting spirit. This Intifadaof ours has recorded more than 15 exemplary cases of girls who were martyredfor the sake of Allah. But not before making the Jews – the brothers of apesand pigs – taste the bitterness of death, and not before avenging the blood ofthe martyrs, the wounded, the bereaved, the prisoners, the displaced, thosewhose homes were destroyed, those whose lands were bulldozed, and all thosewho were affected by the earthquake of the sons of Zion."

Interviewer: "What are the purposes behind women's participation in the jihad of conquest and invasions?"

Yunis Al-Astal: "I have mentioned some of these purposes. [Women] prepare food, they bring water, they tend to the wounded and convey them from the battlefield, they protect the [soldiers'] possessions, and so on. But in many cases, women participated in combat, especially if the Islamic army was weakening, and you could see that the enemy was about to gain the upper hand. In such cases, a woman would draw out her sword, or pull out a pole from her tent, and would resist to the best of her ability."

[...]

"Let's take another example. Safiyya, the aunt of the Prophet Muhammad, used a pole to kill a Jew in the Battle of the Trench. Likewise, in the Battle of Hunayn, Umm Sulaym had a dagger, and when asked about it, she said: 'If an enemy of Allah comes near me, I shall stab him with this dagger.' History has recorded, in shining letters, the fact that Al-Khansaa sacrificed her four children at the battle of Al-Qadisiyya. She inflamed their emotions and she herself incited them to fight until they attained their martyrdom, and then she thanked Allah for honoring her with the killing of them all."

[...]

Umm Ibrahim "Praised Allah for Accepting Her Sacrifice – Her Only Son"

Yunis Al-Astal: "I would like to tell you a wonderful story which took place in later times. There was a woman called Umm Ibrahim Al-Hashimiya, and Ibrahim was her only child. She prepared 10,000 dinars, to hold him a wedding the likes of which had never been seen. All the girls of the neighborhood were hoping to become his wife. One day, she attended a sermon about jihad, the virtues of the mujahideen, and about the black-eyed virgins of Paradise. She immediately decided that her son would marry the black-eyed virgins. She went to the preacher and paid him the 10,000 dinars, on the condition that her son would marry the black-eyed virgins, about whom she heard things that encouraged her to act the way she did.

"Her son did indeed wage jihad for the sake of Allah, and she awaited news of his martyrdom with bated breath. When the army returned, she hastened to ask: 'Should I be congratulated because my gift was accepted, or should I be offered condolences because it was returned?' The army commander said to her: 'The gift was accepted, and the bride has been brought to the groom.' She praised Allah for accepting her sacrifice – her only son, who was about to be married. She believed that his wedding was his martyrdom for the sake of Allah."

[...]

"In the second Al-Aqsa Intifada, females martyrdom-seekers emerged. These are young women, in the prime of their life, at a time when girls like these think only about jewelry and preparing for marriage. Nevertheless, they went to their martyrdom, advancing head-on with a great fighting spirit. This Intifada of ours has recorded more than 15 exemplary cases of girls who were martyred for the sake of Allah. But not before making the Jews – the brothers of apes and pigs – taste the bitterness of death, and not before avenging the blood of the martyrs, the wounded, the bereaved, the prisoners, the displaced, those whose homes were destroyed, those whose lands were bulldozed, and all those who were affected by the earthquake of the sons of Zion."

The Female Martyrdom-Seekers' Message to the Enemies is to Go Back Whence They Came – "Or Else our Jihad will Continue Until this Land Regains its Holiness"

Interviewer: "Dr. Al-Astal, we have seen that some of the female martyrdom-seekers set out on their martyrdom operation without a veil. To what extent does our religion allow women, when they embark upon jihad for the sake of Allah, to use means of camouflage such as removing the veil?"

Yunis Al-Astal: "When jihad becomes an individual duty, the husband's permission or consent is not required, because jihad becomes like prayer. Just like a woman does not have to ask for permission to pray, to fast during Ramadhan, or to give charity, she does not need to ask for permission when jihad becomes an individual duty. In my opinion, in places invaded by the enemy, jihad becomes an individual duty.

"With regard to your question about the veil, especially when it comes to martyrdom-seekers who had to go into the Zionist cities deep in Palestine – jihad is a duty, and so is wearing a veil, but the duty of jihad is ten times great than the duty of wearing a veil."

[...]

"The most important message is that our enemies should know that there is no place for them on the land of Palestine. Each and every boy and man, and each and every girl and woman, is a potential martyrdom-seeker. The enemy should know that we are prepared to wear explosive belts, and to throw ourselves in the midst of the enemy, in order to make them taste the evil consequences of their deeds. They should know that they have no other choice – either they leave or they will die, even if it takes a long time."

[...]

"The message of the female martyrdom-seekers to the enemies is that they should go back to where they came from, or else our jihad will continue until this land regains its holiness – from the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan] River."

[...]

"The women of Islam, especially in regions of tension – and I emphasize Iraq and Afghanistan, where the Americans run rampant... If we are capable – and, Allah willing we are indeed capable – of shattering America's might and rubbing its nose in the dirt, we will deliver the world from this global American bully, from the European Crusader hypocrisy, and the hateful paganism worldwide. What is required of the men and women of these peoples – but especially the women – is that they take [an example] from Rim Al-Riyashi, from Fatima Al-Najjar, and from the long list of women, and especially from Umm Nidhal, the mother of Muhammad Farhat, who sacrificed three children as martyrs, and who threatens the enemy that her remaining children will become martyrdom-seekers, and will make the Jews taste the evil consequences of their deeds."

*********************The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent, non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background information, are available on request.

MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with proper attribution.

"The most important thing to realize is that time is of the essence," Erekat said. "We need to deliver the end of occupation, a Palestinian state. If we don't have hope, Hamas will export despair to the people."

As immediate steps, Erekat said, Abbas will ask Israel to remove West Bank checkpoints that disrupt daily life and trade, and to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in Palestinian tax funds Israel froze after Hamas came to power last year.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has invited Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah II to attend a summit in Egypt early next week, a senior aide to Abbas said Thursday.

The regional summit is scheduled to take place at the Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Government spokeswoman Miri Eisin said Thursday that "nothing has been finalized" regarding Olmert's participation in the summit.

The meeting will focus on bolstering Abbas and opening diplomatic channels between Abbas and Olmert, following the Hamas takeover in the Gaza Strip last week and the establishment of an emergency government in Ramallah over the weekend.

Rabbo said Thursday that the Palestinians demand concrete results from the gathering, and warned that if it ended without results, it would cause more harm than good.

Another senior aide to Abbas, Saeb Erekat, said Thursday that Abbas will call for a resumption of peace talks with Israel at the summit, arguing that only progress toward Palestinian statehood can serve as a true buffer against Hamas.

"The most important thing to realize is that time is of the essence," Erekat said. "We need to deliver the end of occupation, a Palestinian state. If we don't have hope, Hamas will export despair to the people."

As immediate steps, Erekat said, Abbas will ask Israel to remove West Bank checkpoints that disrupt daily life and trade, and to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in Palestinian tax funds Israel froze after Hamas came to power last year.

Olmert reached an understanding with United States President George W. Bush during his visit to Washington on Tuesday that it is necessary to support Abbas, a senior political source in Jerusalem said Wednesday.

The decision to aid Abbas was made despite skepticism about his chances for success, in view of past experience. Olmert and Bush agreed they must not allow the impression that Abbas failed because Israel or the U.S. failed him.

On his return leg from the U.S., Olmert told reporters that he is satisfied with his visit and noted the great opportunity in the fact that Hamas is no longer in the Palestinian government.

Meanwhile, for the first time since the new Palestinian government was established, senior level contacts between Israel and the Palestinian Authority were initiated on Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni spoke Wednesday on the telephone with Salam Fayyad, the PA prime minister, and discussed the implications of the Hamas takeover in the Gaza Strip.

Livni stressed the importance of the establishment of the new government in the PA, saying that "it enables progress in matters that have been at an impasse during the period of the unity government and enables progress in the peace process."

Sources in Livni's office said that the conversation with the Palestinian PM was coordinated with Olmert.

Livni and Fayad had been in close touch during the months prior to the establishment of the Fatah-Hamas unity government, and met occasionally to discuss the political horizon of the Palestinian track.

In his first address to the Palestinian people since the Hamas takeover of Gaza, Abbas went on the offensive Wednesday and angrily lashed out at the Islamic militants, accusing them of trying to build an empire of darkness in the Strip and pledging he would not talk to murderous terrorists.

Abbas was uncharacteristically harsh in his verbal attack on Hamas. He said the group attacked national symbols, including the home of Yasser Arafat.

"There is no dialogue with those murderous terrorists," he said. "Our main goal is to prevent sedition from spreading to the West Bank... to prevent violations by any party, and to deal [with everyone] equally, based on law," he said.

Abbas delivered the televised speech to the Palestine National Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization, seeking approval for his recent steps, such as declaring a state of emergency, dismissing the Hamas-led unity government and setting up an emergency cabinet of moderates.

He also hinted at the possibility of replacing the Palestinian parliament, where Hamas has a majority, with the Palestine National Council. Such a measure would be necessary since under current rules, the emergency government would require parliament's approval after a month.

He said Palestinian travel documents would in the future only be issued from the West Bank and if recognized internationally, as expected would mean Gazans can no longer travel abroad.

Security personnel will be deployed in force in the West Bank to restore law and order, he added. Despite the harsh setback of losing Gaza, Abbas reiterated that the time is ripe for restarting peace talks with Israel, under the umbrella of an international conference.

At one point, Abbas also described in great detail what he said was a Hamas attempt to assassinate him. He obtained footage, he said, of Hamas members dragging large amounts of explosives through a tunnel they had dug under Gaza's main road the one he takes on his way to his office and saying this is for Abu Mazen (Abbas' nickname).

He said he sent the tape to Hamas' supreme leader, Khaled Meshal in Damascus, and to Arab leaders to illustrate Hamas intentions. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri hotly rejected Abbas' statements. "What he said was disgusting and not appropriate for the Palestinian president," the Hamas official said. "The president has harmed himself with his words."

The Palestine National Council last convened in 2004, after the death of Abbas' predecessor, Yasser Arafat, and Abbas said he would seek to reactivate the PLO, of which Hamas is not a member, presumably to bypass Hamas and strip it of legitimacy.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon joined Western nations on Wednesday in criticizing the world body's own Human Rights Council for "picking on Israel" as part of an agreement on its working rules.

The European Union, Canada and the United States have already attacked the deal reached in Geneva on Monday under which Israel's actions would become a permanent item on the Human Rights Council's agenda.

A UN statement said: "The Secretary-General is disappointed at the council's decision to single out only one specific regional item given the range and scope of allegations of human rights violations throughout the world."

The statement did not mention Israel or the Palestinian Authority by name.

The 47-nation council was set up by the General Assembly last year to try to improve the UN's image on human rights. It replaced a commission that had been widely criticized for ignoring rights violations in some developing countries.

Alejandro Wolff, deputy U.S. permanent representative at the United Nations, accused the council of "a pathological obsession with Israel" and also denounced its action on Cuba and Belarus. "I think the record is starting to speak for itself," he told journalists.

The Geneva meeting aroused further controversy after Cuba and Belarus, both accused of abuses, were removed from a list of nine special mandates, which included North Korea, Cambodia and Sudan, carried forward from the defunct commission.

The council's charter preserves the watchdog's right to appoint special investigators for countries whose human rights records are of particular concern, something many developing states have long opposed.

"There is no doubt that Lebanon will not know stability, security and peace, and all its institutions will not resume normal functioning as long as the Lebanese-Syrian borders are not fully controlled by international deterrent forces operating under Chapter Seven of the UN.Meanwhile, the Arab League delegation headed by the League's General Secretary Amr Moussa, which is scheduled to begin a mediation mission in Lebanon tomorrow, is strongly urged to take the matter seriously and to propose a non-biased and effective deterrent urgent applicable plan in a bid to safeguard Lebanon's integrity, sovereignty stability and independence. The Arab traditional rhetoric stances of compromise, cajoling, appeasing and camouflaging of facts can no longer be accepted or tolerated by the suffering Lebanese people. The delegation ought to either witness for the truth and stand tall against the Syrian Baathist regime in a courageous and productive stance, or apologize, drop its mission and go back home."

All media reports circulated by news agencies on Sunday, June 18/07 covering the launching of Katyusha rockets from a Southern Lebanese-Israeli border village towards Israel's northern town of Kiryat Shemona, as well as releases and statements issued in this regard by the Lebanese Army Command, the UNIFIL forces, numerous Lebanese parties and politicians, all without exception stated that the identity of those militant elements who fired the rockets remained unknown.

To put matters into their correct perspective and witness to the truth, we from the LCCC (Lebanese Canadian Coordinating Council) would like to remind everybody that the identity of the men who fired the rockets is not unknown at all. On the contrary, it is well known to everyone, as well as the vicious and malicious goals that have lead to this act at this particular time.

All media sources, Lebanese and UNIFIL officials, Lebanese politicians and parties, and regional countries etc. have with full knowledge kept a blind eye on the blatant fact that all armed Lebanese, Palestinian, Mafiosi, terrorist and fundamentalist organizations and militias based in Lebanon are financed, sponsored, run, and controlled by Syria and Iran, the two states of the axis of evil. Accordingly, the camouflage of this blatant fact is an insult to the intelligence and knowledge of both the Lebanese people and the people of the neighbouring countries. All should get out and free themselves from this hypocrisy and "Media Dhimitude" demeaning approach and mentality..

In my capacity as Chairman for the LCCC, and on behalf of its board and members, I strongly condemn the rocket launching crime as a blatant and seriousviolation of UN Resolution 1701.

The LCCC adamantly believes that both Syria and Iran are fully responsible for this savage act, as well as the so-called Lebanese opposition in all its members.

From the LCCC, we call for the following:

* A responsible, straightforward and firm stance by the Lebanese legitimate Siniora government. We request it submits an urgent official complaint to the UNSecurity Council and to the Arab League against Syria and Iran demanding serious and deterrent penalties.

* An immediate and detailed release by UNFIL shedding light on the rocket launching incident, especially that it took place from a Lebanese Southern villagethat falls under its joint control and jurisdiction with the Lebanese Army.

* Urgent and immediate field steps governed by an appropriate UN Council Resolution issued under chapter seven, and with full support from the free world and Arab countries for the deployment of international deterrent forces on the Lebanese-Syrian borders in a bid to put an end once and for all to the illegal >smuggling of men and weapons from Syria to Lebanon.

* Strong and immediate international and regional support to the Lebanese Army, beginning with the help by UNIFIL to disarm all militias based in Lebanon, Lebanese, Palestinian and Islamic fundamentalist, especially Hezbollah and the Syrian-Palestinian illegal military bases of Kusaya, Helwa and Naeme. All the security cantons that belong to Hezbollah as well as the 13 Palestinian camps must be freed from terrorists, disarmed and kept under the state's full control.

There is no doubt that Lebanon will not know stability, security and peace, and all its institutions will not resume normal functioning as long as the Lebanese-Syrian borders are not fully controlled by international deterrent forces operating under Chapter Seven of the UN.

Meanwhile, the Arab League delegation headed by the League's General Secretary Amr Moussa, which is scheduled to begin a mediation mission in Lebanon tomorrow, is strongly urged to take the matter seriously and to propose a non-biased and effective deterrent urgent applicable plan in a bid to safeguard Lebanon's integrity, sovereignty stability and independence. The Arab traditional rhetoric stances of compromise, cajoling, appeasing and camouflaging of facts can no longer be accepted or tolerated by the suffering Lebanese people. The delegation ought to either witness for the truth and stand tall against the Syrian Baathist regime in a courageous and productive stance, or apologize, drop its mission and go back home.

In the midst of all Lebanon's ongoing agony, all hopes of salvation remain focused on the country's army. From the LCCC we hail the great sacrifices of the Lebanese Armed Forces who are fighting courageously the terrorist groups at the Nahr Al-Bared Palestiniancamp in North Lebanon which are fully sponsored and controlled by neighbouring Syria.

*Elias Bejjani Chairman for the Canadian Lebanese Coordinating Council (LCCC) Human Rights activist, journalist & political commentator.Spokesman for the Canadian Lebanese Human Rights Federation (CLHRF)

Militants in Lebanon fired at least three rockets into Israel on Sunday, causing no casualties and little damage, but raising the possibility of a new flare-up on the volatile border less than a year after Israel's bloody month long war against Hezbollah. The Lebanese prime minister said the attack was geared at undermining the stability of Lebanon, while the U.N. condemned Sunday's incident as a serious violation to a cease-fire that ended the conflict last year.

Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group, denied involvement, and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert [said] it was mostly likely the work of "a small Palestinian movement."Israel's initial reaction was muted, but security officials were meeting to debate a response. "We are still clarifying the circumstances," Olmert said in New York, where he was meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "Lebanon has been very quiet in the last nine months and hopefully will continue to be so."

The rockets were the first fired from Lebanon since last summer's war, when almost 4,000 rockets exploded in Israel. The latest rockets landed in the northern town of Kiryat Shemona, which was hard hit during that conflict. An official with Olmert indicated Israel would not hit back.

"Israel will not succumb to this provocation but will monitor the situation carefully," the official said, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.Al-Manar, the Hezbollah TV station in Lebanon, broadcast a denial that Hezbollah was involved. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said the attack aimed to destabilize Lebanon by casting doubts about the ability of the army and U.N. peacekeepers to protect the border zone.

"The state ... will spare no effort in uncovering those who stand behind this incident, which is aimed at attempting to undermine the stability" of Lebanon, Saniora said in a statement. A Lebanese security official told The Associated Press that two 107 mm rockets were launched using timers from an area between the villages of Adaisseh and Kfar Kila, a few miles from Israel's border. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

The Lebanese army said in a statement three 107 millimeter Katyusha rockets were fired at Israel by "unknown elements" and that a search was underway to find the attackers. Troops sent to search the suspected launching area found a fourth rocket equipped with a timer.

Israeli Channel 2 TV's Arab affairs analyst, Ehud Yaari, said a splinter Palestinian group in Lebanon was probably behind the attack. There was no claim of responsibility. In the past, small Palestinian groups, like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, have fired a few rockets at Israel.

Yasmina Bouziane, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, said the rocket attack was considered a "serious breach of cessation of hostilities agreement" from last year's war. UNIFIL and Lebanese troops have intensified patrols of the area "in order to locate the perpetrators and prevent any further attacks," she added. The peacekeeping force urged the parties to exercise maximum restraint to prevent escalation. Late Sunday, a drone aircraft could be heard circling over the southern Lebanon port city of Tyre, witnesses said. UNIFIL and the Lebanese army have no drones, and Israel has frequently flown such small aircraft to monitor movements on the ground in southern Lebanon.

The 2006 conflict started with a cross-border raid by Hezbollah in which three Israeli soldiers were killed and two captured. Israel launched an air offensive against Hezbollah targets and Lebanese infrastructure. The war ended inconclusively after 34 days.

The Hamas gunmen who broke into the Gaza house of late Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat on Saturday, also stole his Nobel Peace Prize and his widow's evening gowns, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

"This morning the Hamas gangs and militia broke into the home of the leader and symbol, Yasser Arafat, broke the door and entered his house under gunpoint. They stole and looted its content, stepped on his picture and military uniform and stole his personal documents," the report said, using harsh words against Hamas.

According to the report, "(The gunmen) smashed the badges and gifts he received from world leaders, as well as the Nobel Peace Prize medal."

It appears that the gunmen also visited the private room of the late leaders' widow, Suha Arafat.

"The militiamen broke into his wife and daughter's rooms on the second floor of the house and stole the women's clothes. They also stepped on the picture of the 'shahid rais' (martyr chairman) with his daughter Zahwa and his wife, Suha Arafat."

Fatah spokesman Ahmed Abdel Rahman was enraged by the incident, saying that "this crime took place after Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal promised that Arafat's house would not be touched.

"This is a real crime which was preceded by crimes of killing, slaughter and theft by the gangs of the Hamas militia and its executing force in the presidential headquarters in Gaza, as well as the execution of Fatah officers.

"These crimes will reveal to the entire world the face of the Hamas leadership and the political leadership which rose to power. The Palestinian people will not forgive these criminal gangs which broke into the home of the great Palestinian shahid, Yasser Arafat. This crime will remain a mark of disgrace on the forehead of the Hamas leadership and its criminal gangs," he added.

Christians living in Gaza City on Monday appealed to the international community to protect them against increased attacks by Muslim extremists. Many Christians said they were prepared to leave the Gaza Strip as soon as the border crossings are reopened. The appeal came following a series of attacks on a Christian school and church in Gaza City over the past few days.

Father Manuel Musalam, leader of the small Latin community in the Gaza Strip, said masked gunmen torched and looted the Rosary Sisters School and the Latin Church.

"The masked gunmen used rocket-propelled grenades to storm the main entrances of the school and church," he said. "Then they destroyed almost everything inside, including the Cross, the Holy Book, computers and other equipment."

Musalam expressed outrage over the burning of copies of the Bible, noting that the gunmen destroyed all the Crosses inside the church and school. "Those who did these awful things have no respect for Christian-Muslim relations," he said.

He estimated damages at more than $500,000. "Those who see the destruction will realize how bad this attack was," he said. "Christians have been living in peace and security with Muslims for many years, but those who attacked us are trying to sabotage this relationship."

He said Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas phoned him on Sunday night to express his strong condemnation for the attack. "President Abbas promised that he would do his utmost to prevent such attacks on Christians here," he said.

Fatah officials blamed Hamas militiamen for the attack on the church and school. However, Islam Shahwan, spokesman for Hamas's Executive Force in the Gaza Strip, denied responsibility.

He nevertheless admitted that a large group of Hamas militiamen had been near the area during the attack. "We have instructed all our men to withdraw from the area," he said. "We will punish anyone who targets churches and public institutions."

dinsdag 19 juni 2007

Mottaki [Iranian Foreign Minister] said: "America and some foreign parties in the region are trying to increase clashes in Palestine, although individual movements of the Palestinian groups can make the current gap wider."

"Iran supports non-democratic groups in Palestine, Lebanon and in Iraq and we hold Iran responsible for encouraging Hamas to carry out its coup in Gaza," senior Palestinian official Yasser Abed Rabbo said.

An aide to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday Iran had encouraged Hamas to use violence to take control of the Gaza Strip.

"Iran supports non-democratic groups in Palestine, Lebanon and in Iraq and we hold Iran responsible for encouraging Hamas to carry out its coup in Gaza," senior Palestinian official Yasser Abed Rabbo said.

A Hamas spokesman in Gaza said the charges were "weak and false."

"The involvement of senior Fatah leaders with the occupation (Israel) has become clear and Abed Rabbo is trying to cover up for this by spreading weak and false allegations that will not fool the Palestinian people," Hamas's Sami Abu Zuhri said.

Abbas swore in an emergency government on Sunday after Hamas's violent takeover of the Gaza Strip last week forced him to sack the Hamas-led unity government.

"We reject accusations by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki that the formation of the emergency government is a step that is hostile to democracy. Iran has no right to give us lessons in democracy," Abed Rabbo, a senior Abbas aide, told Reuters.

Iran, which supports Hamas, blamed the United States and other foreign parties for the crisis between Hamas and secular Fatah, an Iranian news agency reported.

Mottaki said: "America and some foreign parties in the region are trying to increase clashes in Palestine, although individual movements of the Palestinian groups can make the current gap wider."

Iran was one of the few states which provided financial support to Hamas despite the international restrictions imposed on the government which it led.

In a press conference in Damascus on Friday, Hamas political chief Khaled Meshal looked like an abusive husband trying to convince his wife to return home. "We have no plans to control Gaza," Meshal claimed. "We were forced to take over as an emergency measure." He explained that "Hamas plans to cooperate with Mahmoud Abbas for the good of the Palestinian people." Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, for his part, claimed that his organization is still committed to Palestinian unity.

The statements sound less than honest less than 24 hours after Hamas militants conducted a murderous political purge of the Gaza Strip. The past three days have included the arrests of dozens of senior Fatah officials, the looting of the Presidential Palace, and the robbing of homes of anyone ever associated with Fatah. Not only Yasser Arafat's residence, but the home of businessman Ihab Al-Askhar - who hasn't been active in Fatah for 13 years - and that of Mohammed Dahlan's mother.

Hamas is trying to bring routine back to Gaza's streets. Once again, Hamas is wrapping itself in the sheep's moderate garb and explaining that it didn't act against Fatah, only against Dahlan's branch. Hamas even promises the imminent release of abducted BBC journalist Alan Johnston as part of law and order measures.

But despite efforts to create the appearance of business as usual, Hamas leaders face a complex task. Meshal, Haniyeh and particularly the leaders of the military wing green-lighted not only the civil war, but also atrocities like the execution of Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade militant Samiah Al-Madhoun. Hamas militants who abused corpses, threw fellow Palestinians off high-rises, burned and looted, will have trouble getting up the next day looking like a law-abiding public.

And it is not just the street Hamas will have trouble controlling. The organization's supposed mainstream also has a prominent extremist group that sees Fatah as a gang of heretics.

Fatah officials, too, are trying to create the impression of business as usual. Salam Fayad was appointed to head a Palestinian emergency government that probably no one understands how will function and may only emphasize the rift between the West Bank and Gaza. Many in Fatah believe their last hope after the serious blow to Dahlan is in an Israeli prison. However, it seems restoring Fatah to its former glory in Gaza will be too big a job, even for a freed Marwan Barghouti.

The Israeli defense establishment had two approaches to the situation over the weekend: one viewed the events gravely and claimed that Fatah's defeat would lead to a serious deterioration of Israel-PA relations. The second sought a ray of light. They said it comes from the fact everything is clearer now in Gaza. There are no more "bad" and "good" Palestinians. There is one address in Gaza - Hamas, with which it is possible to speak only with force.

Either way, the defense establishment assumes Hamas will be interested in the short term in calm with Israel to stabilize its hold on the strip. The central dilemma for Israel is opening the border crossings. In a few days, reports will appear in the media about the suffering of Gaza residents. It is unlikely it will be possible to dump the problem on Egypt's doorstep, since that country is not enthusiastic to let most of the goods into Gaza from its territory via the Rafah crossing.

Ramallah  Ma'an  On Saturday morning Fatah militias from the Al Aqsa Brigades stormed the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) buildings in Ramallah, in the central West Bank.

Fatah gunmen also torched several institutions and societies affiliated to the Hamas movement in Nablus, in the northern West Bank.

The firefighting department of Nablus municipality said that they extinguished fires in a number of institutions, clubs and industrial plants in the city.

Hamas sources told Ma'an's correspondent that Fatah's military wing, the Al Aqsa Brigades, kidnapped several Hamas members in Nablus.

Al Aqsa Brigades' members also raided Nablus municipality's offices and raised the Palestinian flag from the roof of the building.

The brigades prevented any Hamas-affiliated members from the local council from entering the building, saying that they will appoint an independent committee for the local council.

The Al Aqsa Brigades also announced the appointment of a new director, Jamal Ma'roof, for the endowment department in Nablus, after breaking into its offices.

In response, Hamas accused Fatah of attempting to eradicate the opposition. Hamas said in a statement, "The Fatah movement is practicing ethnic cleansing against anyone affiliated to the Hamas movement or even close to the movement."

"Hamas murdered 400 Fatah activists"

Spokesperson of the Al Aqsa Brigades in the West Bank, Abu 'Uday, denied Hamas' allegations. He told Ma'an that since Friday night, the Al Aqsa Brigades have striven to protect Palestinian people, including Hamas members.

He also said that the effect of the Israeli occupation prevents Palestinians from immediately seizing control of everything in the West Bank.

Abu 'Uday also accused Hamas of attempting to divert focus to the West Bank whilst Hamas are committing atrocities in the Gaza Strip. "They are trying to make people forget that Hamas murdered 400 Fatah activists in the Gaza Strip," said Abu Uday.

Abbas "acting illegally"

Acting speaker of the PLC, Ahmad Bahar, denounced the assault on the parliament buildings and the threats to the PLC's director general of financial affairs, Abdul Kareem Abu Taha.

Bahar held a press conference in Gaza City, during which he appealed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to enforce the cessation of such attacks.

With regards to the presidential decrees issued by Abbas, Bahar said "Every newly-formed government is illegal until it gains the PLC confidence, according to the amended articles of the basic Palestinian law. What's more, [Prime Minister] Haniyeh's unity government remains legal as a transitional government, until a new government gains the PLC's confidence."

Bahar stated that the Palestinian president based his decision to establish an emergency government on article seven of the basic law. "However," he explained, "there is no written text under article 7 subtitled 'emergency government'." He went on to detail article 67, confirming that "any new government must gain the confidence of the PLC as a precondition before they are sworn in".

In addition, article 79, paragraph 4, states that the prime minister, or any other minister, may not start their duties before gaining the approval of the PLC.

Shelly Smith, a 42-year-old teacher from the US living in Gaza, spoke to Al Jazeera about the horrors of the the factional fighting between Hamas and Fatah.

Our neighbour Waseem Arafat had gone to the Shifa hospital in Beit Hanoun to visit someone and when he came out a gunman shot him four times in the head.I don't know if he was allied to any faction but I don't think he was in Hamas. Waseem was brought home in a taxi. He was a young man of about 25 years or less. His mother cried in my arms and I took her into another room as they started to clean the body of her son. The young men and relatives that arrived to pay their respects to the family were erupting with anger and some shouted to kill the ones that killed Waseem. It was the father of Waseem that told them to calm down and use their heads. It won't do any good for more to get injured or killed. He told them to help him pray for his son and then help bury him today.

Heavy boom

Today has been the worst by far, no-one can go out, a lot of the phones are out. I have not been able to go to work since Monday. All the high school kids are going through their exams at the moment and they are having to walk or take taxis to school. It's very subdued in Zeytoun now and most shops are shut apart from the ones on the side streets. We hear ambulances go back and forth, the occasional heavy boom but I'm not sure if it's artillery or something else. As they prepared Waseem for burial his younger cousin came home from taking her high school final exams.She was full of tears and holding her mouth and nose. Her face paled and she was visibly weakened as the other women guided her to a chair. Waseem used to take them to the football pitch and teach them all the cool moves. He used to offer rides home to me when he saw me waiting for taxis. I can't tell you how heavy my heart is right now.

Desperate situation

We are staying inside, the hospitals have been calling on the radios for blood but I don't see how anyone could get to them and give blood unless they were already inside. We are near the security headquarters where all the men were paraded outside shirtless, only about a mile, but I am not going anywhere near there, it's too dangerous. I work for the Palestinian Commission for Refugee Rights Protection. With UNRWA closed we will have many people coming to us for help. We don't have food supplies like them and if things don't calm down in the next few days I can see the situation getting very desperate for some people. Things for people living by Gaza beach are also bad; the powerlines were cut or are off and they can no longer fill their water tanks, so I don't know what they are doing without power or adequate sanitation. When we listen to the radio it just says to stay inside and keep off the streets. Many people are calling in to the radio stations and they are very, very angry with all political parties over the violence.

In a press conference in Damascus on Friday, Hamas political chief Khaled Meshal looked like an abusive husband trying to convince his wife to return home.

"We have no plans to control Gaza," Meshal claimed. "We were forced to take over as an emergency measure." He explained that "Hamas plans to cooperate with Mahmoud Abbas for the good of the Palestinian people."

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, for his part, claimed that his organization is still committed to Palestinian unity.

The statements sound less than honest less than 24 hours after Hamas militants conducted a murderous political purge of the Gaza Strip. The past three days have included the arrests of dozens of senior Fatah officials, the looting of the Presidential Palace, and the robbing of homes of anyone ever associated with Fatah.

Not only Yasser Arafat's residence, but the home of businessman Ihab Al-Askhar who hasn't been active in Fatah for 13 years and that of Mohammed Dahlan's mother.

Hamas is trying to bring routine back to Gaza's streets. Once again, Hamas is wrapping itself in moderate garb and explaining that it didn't act against Fatah, only against Dahlan's branch.

Hamas even promises the imminent release of abducted BBC journalist Alan Johnston as part of law and order measures.

But despite efforts to create the appearance of business as usual, Hamas leaders face a complex task.

Meshal, Haniyeh and particularly the leaders of the military wing green-lighted not only the civil war, but also atrocities like the execution of Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade militant Samiah Al-Madhoun.

Hamas militants who abused corpses, threw fellow Palestinians off high-rises, burned and looted, will have trouble getting up the next day looking like a law-abiding public.

And it is not just the street Hamas will have trouble controlling. The organization's supposed mainstream also has a prominent extremist group that sees Fatah as a gang of heretics.

Fatah officials, too, are trying to create the impression of business as usual. Salam Fayad was appointed to head a Palestinian emergency government that probably no one understands how will function and may only emphasize the rift between the West Bank and Gaza. Many in Fatah believe their last hope after the serious blow to Dahlan is in an Israeli prison.

However, it seems restoring Fatah to its former glory in Gaza will be too big a job, even for a freed Marwan Barghouti.

The Israeli defense establishment had two approaches to the situation over the weekend: one viewed the events gravely and claimed that Fatah's defeat would lead to a serious deterioration of Israel-PA relations. The second sought a ray of light. They said it comes from the fact everything is clearer now in Gaza. There are no more "bad" and "good" Palestinians. There is one address in Gaza - Hamas, with which it is possible to speak only with force.

Either way, the defense establishment assumes Hamas will be interested in the short term in calm with Israel to stabilize its hold on the strip. The central dilemma for Israel is opening the border crossings. In a few days, reports will appear in the media about the suffering of Gaza residents. It is unlikely it will be possible to dump the problem on Egypt's doorstep, since that country is not enthusiastic to let most of the goods into Gaza from its territory via the Rafah crossing.